Once a Marauder, Always a Marauder
by Feather V. Hawkins
Summary: The romance of Lily and James was always fathomed about. But what happens on a late night, a tower, and a prank? There's some incredibly mild language in the later chaps, but give it a read anyway!
1. Chapter 1

_OOh, almost forgot that FREAKIN disclaimer. I don't own Harry Potter, I'm only saving up for it. I don't think that JK Rowling would sue me anyway, she's too nice. I have no money anyway._

_**Once a Marauder, Always a Marauder  
By: Feather Hawkins**_

James Potter and Sirius Black were the two most annoying people in the entire wizarding world. How Lily Evans wished that they would just go away or drop out! _Especially_ James.

James Potter was a popular mischief maker. He and Sirius Black caused more trouble than the rest of the school combined. From Fanged Frisbees to the falling chandelier in the entrance hall, James was to blame. He was also chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and that did nothing but boost his already overly large ego. Yet the never got the punishment they deserved. Contrary, many teachers thought it was funny that James used his talents to wreck havoc and mayhem. His messy black hair was his trademark, his way of saying that he was better than the rest. Which in Lily Evans world, he most definitely WASN'T.

Oh, and there was the small, insignificant fact that he was in love with her.

Lily Evans hated James and had since she was a little first year. He was a bully and he tortured the younger, weaker students or those who weren't as arrogant as him and didn't stand up for themselves. To her, he was just another disrespectful git. Sirius Black was almost as bad, but at least he was nice to some people, especially girls. He was the school's chick magnet and James had been too until he met Lily Evans, the school's uptight prefect. Then he'd "fallen in love" and that was that. No other girl would suit James Potter. He had to choose the one that despised him!

The Marauders were a band of friends made up of Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and of course, the arrogant, big headed, messy haired James Potter (those names were order by the chance that Lily would say yes if any of them asked her out. No wonder James was last.) Remus Lupin, her favorite of the lot, desperately tried to keep his friends in line, but it was hard. Well, he pretty much gave up half way through his sixth year. The only support he ever got was from Pettigrew and he was off visiting a dying relative or something of the sort, but that did nothing to weaken his other two friends. There were only three Marauders left in the school for the next three months and even though James was still there, Lily was glad. Why did the sorting hat put her in the same house? James was so repulsive that he should've been in Slytherin, but no. Instead, he went to brave and noble Gryffindor. When Lily had tried on the hat, she'd been offered a choice, Ravenclaw or Gryffindor and she'd picked Gryffindor for its brave and noble past. Unfortunately for her, James and Sirius were put in the same house. Sirius didn't bother her much except for when he was trying to convince her to do something stupid. Like say yes to James. He was just a distraction from the real problem. Remus was very nice to her and agreed that James was a git sometimes, but they never really became friends because—well, how would James react? One of his best mates friends with the girl her was in love with. If it hadn't been for James, Lily had the feeling her and Remus would've either gone out or been friends. Stupid James!

_Speak of the devil and he will appear_, thought Lily as James Potter walked up to her. "Hey Evans!" he was wearing his crooked I'm-causing-trouble-and-I'm-a-prefect-so-there's-nothing-you-can-do-about-it grin. "Will you go out with me?" he asked.

Lily's cheeks flared the same color as her red hair. "Not if you were the last boy in the world!" she shouted. "James, you're a stupid git and I'm never going to say yes. Get over it." _Arrogant toe rag,_ she though.

"It's great to see you too! How was your break?" he asked sincerely. Lily hated how he was so ignorant. He could do what ever he wanted and didn't care that anyone watched. Well, he was private about doing his homework because he was never in the common room, but almost always handed in his assignments. She guessed he could do everything that he wanted with almost anyone watching was from everyone watching him with the snitch or whatever the hell he tried to catch during Quidditch. Why wouldn't he leave her alone, though?

"Look, I know you won't listen to me, but will you listen to Remus? I've got something to tell you, but you _never listen_. I'll give you some credit; I don't always deserve your attention." She started to walk away, but the despair in his voice stopped her. She turned around. Was he…BLUSHING? His face looked extremely red for a moment and Lily almost considered saying yes, just to humor him, maybe go on one date to prove they weren't meant for each other. No, that would make her look weak. Lily Anna Evans was not weak!

"I'll talk to Remus tomorrow in D.A.D.A. Is that enough for your overly large head?" she compromised. He nodded and went and slumped in one of the arm chairs. She had to give in eventually or she'd have a stalker all through her adult life. Lily changed and started to go to sleep in her four poster bed. Her friend best friend, Star, lay in one of the beds next to her. Star had been her friend through the last six years and was always someone you could count on in when you just needed to talk. Even if the talk had been going on for the past few years…

"Star, wake up," she whispered.

The blonde haired girl looked up, "Evans, what's gotten into you? You almost never wake me up. Are we going to the Astronomy tower tonight?"

"Yeah, we are. I've got to talk to you and it's really important. Let's go." Lily pulled her robes over her and started to walk out of the dormitory. "Star," she groaned, "hurry up!" Star was an incredibly slow person and liked to take her time waking up. It was alright for her to wake Lily up, though, when it was her turn. Thank god Lily didn't mind being woken up or Star might've been murdered before she reached her seventh year.

Star pulled her robes over her and stuck on her shoes. "Take a break, Lils. We'll get there eventually." She slid out of the door and down the railing. "We've got to wake up the fat lady."

"What are you doing? Why are you here so late?" James snapped as they came down the steps from the girls' dormitory. "Oh, it's you." He was still sitting in the same chair that he was sitting in when Lily went upstairs about an hour ago. "Come to make fun of me some more, Evans? Didn't I get enough rejection about an hour ago?" He had a Quidditch book on his lap, but it wasn't open. For a few seconds, Lily's heart bled for him. He was so, well, pathetic! His ridiculously untamed hair was flopping over his hazel eyes, but you'd have to be heartless to not see the hurt shining in them. Then the Lily that had rejected James for her entire Hogwarts history came back and all thoughts of James ever being cute or nice in anyway died.

"James," she said in the same voice you would talk to a first year that was agitating you in, "if you didn't ask me out, I wouldn't have to reject you and all my troubles would be solved."

James mumbled something under his breath, as was his hobby whenever he talked to Lily. She caught what he said though, and it deeply touched her. For her, it just awoke that part pitied and even liked him. "You'll forever remain blind to the feelings I have for you and what I would risk to win you over, prove that I actually love you." In a louder voice he moaned, "Lily, just leave! What, still more ridicule up ahead?"

"No. We were just trying to talk, but we didn't want to wake anyone up," Star chirped. She'd always had a soft spot for James since Lily obviously didn't. Or at least she hadn't.

"Should I leave?" he sounded defeated, something rare for the boy that won every Quidditch match for his house. He still didn't look Lily in the eyes.

"Lily and I were just leaving anyway. I already told you we're going up to the Astronomy tower."

James smiled at Star and shot a quick glance at Lily. His eyes darkened when he saw her feigned indifference. Inside, she was squirming and begging to say something meaningful. "I'll see you later then. Bye Evans. Bye Lunis," he waved goodbye to them and returned to staring at the fire. There was that old, too familiar twinkle in his eyes. She figured out why too. Lily kicked Star under her robes. You never, ever tell the enemy where you're going or where to find you. Never!

"Don't call her Lunis and don't call me Evans. We have real names," Lily argued.

"Seeing as you hate my guts, I thought you'd like me calling you something so impersonal. Fine, I'll call you Lily. Star Lunis, what do you want me to call you?" He shrugged indifferently.

"First name is good, James. Good luck in at the next match, though!" Star tapped Lily with her wand. "Are you looking to fight with him?" She shook her head and they left. The fat lady grumbled a bit about waking her up, but they ignored her (as usual, everyone did). They went up the Astronomy tower steps and onto their favorite place although they nearly got caught by Filch and Ms. Norris. There was a part of the railing broken off and they'd sit there and hang their legs down. Most of the time they just talked, but sometimes they'd come up here in the day to watch the Quidditch matches or tan a bit. That night they sat swinging their legs over the edge and looking up at the starry sky. It really was beautiful at Hogwarts. Unlike Lily's former home in the city, it actually had stars and a moon.

"Star, do you think James has finally given up? We said nearly ten words to him and he didn't ask me out even once." Lily hoped, with the slightest of her being, that he hadn't.

"I guess. You know, he's not half bad. I know he can be an annoying git sometimes and I know as well as you do what he's like to Severus Snape, but you've got to admit some things and even give James a little credit. Snape isn't exactly nice to James either and James is just paying him back for a few stunts. Hate Sirius if you must, James didn't start it with Snape. His best friend did."

Lily didn't respond, but had her friend expected her to? She could put up with James asking her out monthly, even weekly, but a hundred times a day? No, it was just annoying. It felt as if something was piercing a hole through her back at all times…and never knowing when it was coming was worse.

There was a creeping noise behind them. "No, Sirius, don't!" someone shouted. A handsome boy with black hair dived at them, missing Star by inches. She screamed and then slid off and hung by her fingers off the edge of the tower. "Help me!" Lily grabbed her hand and tried to pull her up, but it was no use. Star was as small as it got, but Lily couldn't lift the flailing girl alone. A thick heavy feeling settled in her chest and she desperately clung to Star's hand. "Don't let go!" she screamed. Star wailed at looked up at Lily in fear.

James ran over to Lily and tried to help her pull Star up. Sirius got off the ground, slightly dazed, and together the three of them pulled the crying seventh year up. Once Star was up though, Lily started fuming.

"POTTER! YOU COULD'VE KILLED HER!" Lily shouted. James just stood there and took it, though. He looked like he could've died there on the spot, but he didn't. His knowledge of how much he deserved this was the only thing stopping him from jumping over the railing this very second. Hadn't Star been nice to him? Hadn't Star given him advice on Lily? "Don't call me anything. Leave me alone and never come near me again!" Lily started to cry. She thought, _no, anywhere but here. Not in front of him. "I hate you!_" Lily shouted. James actually flinched at that one. He looked shamefacedly at the ground and avoided Lily and Star's eyes.

"Evans, it's not his fault. We were just trying to fool around. I was the one that tried to scare you. James said not to," Sirius pleaded. Star was shaking near her, still dazed by her near death experience. James gave her an apologetic look, but still faced the ground.

"Sirius, you've done enough damage. Go away, mate. Star, can I talk to Lily for a bit in private?" James asked. He knew how deep he was…and was that—that toe rag going to ask her out!

"Anything said to me can be said in front of her. Sirius, leave," she ordered. Sirius stuck his tongue out at her, but left. She saw a shimmering cloak at James's feet. "Invisibility cloak? Where'd you get something like that?"

"Filch has plenty of goodies in his office. He must have confiscated this years ago it was so covered in dust. Star, can I please talk to Lily in private?"

"Sure." Star shrugged and went down the steps. She hadn't wanted to leave Lily, but she couldn't stop shaking. It'd be nice to sit down for a bit. "Betrayer," Lily mouthed.

"Lily, I know you hate me for this, but it was just supposed to be a joke. Sirius blew it way out of proportion. We were just going to come up and say boo or scare you a bit. I told him not to; you heard me," he pleaded.

Lily softened a bit. "You could've killed her," she said quietly.

James looked down, ashamed. "Yeah, I know. I'm a stupid git, right?"

She laughed. "Wrong, James. You're either bloody brilliant or stark raving mad. What does Remus have to tell me?"

James mumbled something she couldn't hear under his breath. "What!?"

"He was going to try and convince you to give me a chance. Will you go out with me?" he pleaded.

Lily grinned crookedly, sighing as the cold wind ruffled her hair. "I'd like you if you weren't a Marauder and a trouble maker." But she knew that if he wasn't, then he'd be a boring, average student…

"Once a Marauder, always a Marauder. Not being one is like asking me to give up my best friend who just happens to be a Marauder."

"Well I'll have to put up with that then, won't I?" she asked quickly. James seemed to give her a quizzical look before realising what she'd just said.

James's eyes lit up, "Am I delusional or did you just ask me out? Did Lily Anna Evans just ask me out?" His whole body seemed to be flying on some kind of high.

She never knew what it was, whether excitement or what he said earlier, made her say, "I think I'm the delusional one here. I just did, James."


	2. Chapter 2

It's Out... Way Out

James and Lily went through that statue to a long, narrow passage way. It seemed about a mile long. When they came to the end Sirius, Remus, and James disappeared. "Lily, we're under my cloak. Wait here!" James voice ordered, seemingly from nowhere. Lily shot James a look, but she wasn't sure he could see it in the dark. They lifted up a trap door and looked around. 'It's clear, follow us."

Lily climbed along a ladder. She expected to open up to a street or some place in the woods, but no. All she saw was a bunch of cardboard boxes and some jars. Stamped on to many of the boxes was HONEYDUKES. The three original Marauders started up the stairs. They ducked behind the counter and the young boy behind it winked at them. "Go 'head. No one in the special tastes section."

They ducked behind a rack of cockroach clusters. Even without the usual Hogwarts students, the store was still somewhat crowded. A few pale, sticky people started towards the blood pops and they dodged out of the shop. Sirius grimaced. She could clearly remember at one point in her Hogwarts career him comparing the other Black family members to vampires before. Lily stared around the village. She'd never seen Hogsmeade so empty, in fact, the only time that she'd ever seen it was when there were about two hundred Hogwarts students on the loose. Now, only the solitary wizard or witch wandered around the post office or Shrieking Shack. The Three Broomsticks was as lively as ever though. There were maybe fifty people sitting around the tables drinking butter beer or any of the other things that Madam Lola served.

"Do you always go here on the weekends?" Lily asked. It made sense, though. James and Sirius were always in detention while the other students went, but now that the place was quiet (or at least as quiet as Hogsmeade would ever be) they had their chance to do what they wanted. All of the Marauders had friends outside the Marauders, like Lily and Remus only several days earlier, but this was for them and only them. It felt sacred for her to be invited. She shot a look at James and gave him a little smile.

"Most of the time Slughorn's enormous essays keep us home or McGonagall wants us in detention, but I haven't gotten a detention all week and James is only skipping Flikwik's. He really won't mind. He's a bit better than the rest of our teachers. Dumbleydore really only keeps us here out of the kindness of his over sized heart. What would've happened if Dippit had still been Head Master when the Marauders came into the school, only god knows. Our wands would've been snapped in half before we even sat our bottoms on the stool and heads under the sorting hat," Remus chuckled. His gaze wandered over to the Shrieking Shack and he gave an involuntary shudder.

"Let's go get a butter beer at the Three Broomsticks. It'll be a bit warmer in there," James suggested. There was an awkward silence between all of the three old Marauders and Lily, the newest one. She gave James a quick look and he shrugged, as if to say, "Hey, not my fault they're afraid of a girl. If I were Sirius, I'd be making out with you right now." Okay, maybe it didn't say the last part, but it suggested it in Lily's mind. Plus, it was a hundred percent right.

Three bells jingled overhead as they walked in. Lily felt left out, being the only girl with three boys, but there was something else. There was something that she didn't know that the rest of them did. She considered confronting them with it, but she knew that it wasn't right to do to James and it wasn't fair that she should just barge in and expect them to tell her everything. She was the beginner here, and she didn't like not being in total control. They sat down at one of the large red booths ad all ordered butter beers, although Sirius had to be convinced out of ordering Fire Whiskey by Remus.

When they all had steaming hot cups of butter beer in their hands, James started to talk. He could see that Lily was pretty much ruining it, but it wasn't her fault. "Remus, we've got to tell her. She's got a right to know," he said, completely ignoring Lily.

Sirius choked on a mouthful of butter beer and Remus smiled. "I'm fine with it. You, Padfoot?"

"No bloody way! You don't want that kind of thing to get out. You trust her too much and you don't even know her that well," Sirius whispered urgently. Remus gave him a sad look.

James fought back, "I trust Lily. She's not like one of your bimbo girlfriends. Get over yourself."

"James, I'll tell her. It's not your fault, Lily. When you hear it, you might wish you didn't. I won't let my best friend get in trouble over something so stupid that Lily will find out anyway. Lily, I'm a werewolf," he whispered quietly.

Lily nearly fell off her chair and James shot him a grateful look. "You're a what?" she said. He wouldn't tell her this if it wasn't true, but she couldn't picture poor Remus in the woods or anywhere as a werewolf. She could easily picture James accidentally transforming him into one in class, but not an actual werewolf. He wouldn't kill anyone, would he? Is that why his family, like hers, didn't have much money? Remus was so nice and so smart! He didn't deserve anything like that.

"Shhh. Lily, you're only the fourth person that knows outside his family. He's kept it quiet for seven years, you've got to keep a secret now too," James said. "It's fine, he transforms outside Hogwarts and comes back a day or two later and he's usually under the influence of some weakening spells. It's still vicious, it's still horrible, and it's still not right, but what can we do about it? Tell no one, understand?" For once his voice was firm and a little louder. James sighed, "Not even Star."

"I get it. I won't tell anyone. You can trust me," Sirius snickered as she said this, "I won't tell anyone about your erm..." she bit her tongue trying to figure out what is werewolf problem could be called without anyone else knowing what it was.

James laughed, "Furry little problem?" It made a lot of sense though. In her fifth year James had asked her out and she'd told him, "Not if it was the choice between you or a werewolf." Now she understood why Sirius and Peter had busted out laughing and Remus had just looked depressed. James had then come back with, "Well, what if the werewolf was transformed into his wolf shape and could easily kill you?" Lily shot back, "Then you might have a chance."

She smiled, but it looked more like one of James's smiles, the one that said I'm-breaking-the-rules-and-causing-trouble-and-there's-nothing-anyone-can-do-about-it. She was sitting there with a werewolf and the two people that she used to hate more than anything in the world and now was in love with one of them. James was grinning at her. "Hey James, I think you've become a bad influence to this girl," Remus winked. They drank their butter beer and left.

James and Sirius ran to the more rural part of Hogsmeade. Remus and her trailed behind. "So—have you ever," she paused, trying to gather up her nerve, "bitten anyone?"

"No. Lily, I don't really want to talk about it, okay? I can't remember what happened after I'm back in human form…the worst part is waking up with little bits of hair under your fingernail, blood stains on your hands, and knowing that—that you killed something. It'd scare anyone half to death."

Remus grabbed the bag of brooms and they started off the clearing behind the Shrieking Shack. James pulled a little, gold snitch out of his pocket and started letting it go and catching it again. Sirius tossed her a Shooting Arrow broom. "You're chaser and keeper for James's team. He's seeker and I'm seeker for my team and Remus is chaser and keeper for my team. Have fun," Sirius said coldly.

Lily stared at the Shooting Arrow broom. "You want me to play Quidditch?" her eyes bugged up, "With you?"

Sirius laughed at her, "Hey James, your girlfriend doesn't know how to mount a broom! What's wrong with you, Evans?" Remus emptied the bag and a soccer ball and a few brooms fell out. Sirius muttered something to James. James said something about shutting up, but he just laughed and winked back at James. James pushed Sirius and Sirius punched James in his nose. "Shut up!" he said again as he clenched his nose. Sirius pushed James over just as Remus grabbed him.

"Stop it, you two! Lily, here," Remus handed her the Marauders map. "When you're done with it, say 'Mischief managed' and give it back to James. You'd better go." Lily shot Remus a look, but James and Sirius were fully fighting now. James was winning, but Lily felt terrible.

"Stop it you idiots! I'm leaving," she shouted. James started to follow her, but she ignored him and went right to Honey Dukes. Unfortunately, it wasn't the boy behind the register anymore; it was another, older man. James grabbed the sleeve of her shirt and pulled her into an empty corner of the store.

"Lily, just listen to me. Sirius said something about you and..." he stopped because Lily was already walking away.

James tried to grab her again, but Lily turned around. "You can say what you want and blame it on Sirius, but it's your fault. I gave you a chance and the whole time I was here with you, he's treated me like crap. Step up to your friends or leave me alone." Remus had caught up with them, but Sirius was nowhere in sight. "Sirius is going to use the other passage way and it's out... way out," Remus said. The cashier was gone, so they ducked behind the door and into the cellar. James's mouth fell open.

"What's out?"

"Us," Lily said. "His big revenge is to tell the school that I've finally said yes," she swallowed, "But I don't care anymore. He can tell whoever he wants. Do you know why, James? Because it's OVER!"

James bit his lip, "Look Lily, I'm sorry. Sirius always acts stupid after breaks and stuff like that. I didn't know it'd turn out like this." Lily just nodded coldly. They nearly sprinted down the underground corridor back up to Hogwarts. They only stopped once when James dropped his cloak, but waited for him patiently until he found it (it's not easy to find an invisibility cloak in the pitch black). When they got to the top, James nodded glumly. "Let's go," he said and they started climb through trap door. As she was just about to go through the statue, James pulled her foot down and she fell with a THUMP on the stone floor. He pulled the cloak out of his pocket. "Here, you can't afford to get in trouble. We're way late."

"No, I've got the map. Check and see if there's anyone near here. Lumos," her wand sprang to life and let of an emerald green light. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Two little dots appeared right in front of the statue. One was Professor McGonagall and the other was the head of Slytherin, Professor Slughorn. They appeared to be talking or something because the two dots were very close to each other. It was nearly seven o' clock and dinner had ended in the great hall nearly an hour ago. When they got to the end of the passage way, they heard voices. "Professor, have you seen James Potter and Lily Evans? I called for them at dinner, but they didn't show up at my office. It's about the..." McGonagall trailed off. "Well, you know. I don't think they skipped because Black and Remus were not there either and Lily isn't exactly the type to stay anywhere with James for more than thirty seconds," she joked.

A voice that sounded like Slughorn sounded through the statue, "I haven't seen Lily all day today and there haven't been too many incidents that we can't blame on Peeves so Potter might not be here either. You don't think that they went into the forest, do you? I know James might be out on the Quidditch field, but Lily... she's a whole different problem. She's never broken a rule in her life. You do know who told me she'd gone missing, correct?"

"Not exactly."

McGonagall gasped, "Why it was Star Lunis herself. Lily's best friend and if she doesn't know, I truly doubt that anyone knows."

"Hmm, I see. Still, if those two don't show up by tomorrow, we've got to interrogate Mr. Black. We may even need vertisuum if he's intent on keeping it a secret."

"Oh Slughorn, you really are a potion addicted git sometimes. If Lily and James haven't returned by tomorrow, then Star or Sirius probably don't know where they are. Should I get Dumbledore?" McGonagall asked.

"No, no, no. McGonagall, students will run loose a bit in the castle. For all we know, James and Lily finally hooked up or James slipped her a love potion. That they're both a dab hand in my class."

If they could see the head of the Gryffindor, she'd have been laughing and bouncing her wavy black hair, "James? The boys clever, no denying it, but he transforms his friends into teacups instead of his teacup to a mouse! Did I tell you that last Friday Remus Lupin totally disappeared from my class? I went to see how Potter was doing and there were two teacups on his desk. I reversed the spell and what do you know, Remus suddenly appeared sitting on Mr. Potter's desk. I wouldn't like to be one of his friends. It's more dangerous than being an auror or working for the ministry any day!"

"Aww Minerva, don't be too hard on the boy. He's just a bit over creative and clever. When those two mix together, you get an overly powerful wizard or a trouble maker. I'd say Dumbledore's an overly powerful wizard in a good way. Well, with You-Know-Who rising to power, people like James and Dumbledore will save us. I just hope that we don't need him anytime soon," Slughorn said, "Good night to you, Minerva. Good luck finding your missing in action students."

McGonagall laughed a young, girlish laugh that was rather unnatural for her thirty-eight years, "Well good riddance to the darn Slytherins that always stay put! Night to you, Horace." On the Marauders map, the two tiny dots walked in opposite directions. Lily sighed in relief.

"Mischief managed."

"What do you think they want us for? Sirius couldn't have gotten back to the castle that quick with out... Remus, did he have the brooms with him when he left?" James pushed his glasses up on his face.

"Well yeah. He grabbed them and headed to the one near the Whomping Willow."

"Are you thick? He probably flew down the passage way and took maybe, five minutes! He got back ages before us and might've even told McGonagall where we've been. Merlin, Lily, run straight to the library and if anyone asks you, we're studying together and I'm in the bathroom. Remus, run up to the dormitory and read something or do something book wormy. You haven't seen me since this morning. Lily, take the cloak. I'll follow you in about... ten minutes or when ever the hallway is empty."

Lily grabbed it and hid herself. As soon as the hallway was cleared, they all crawled out. Lily ran to the library and James ran into a bathroom. Remus apparently disappeared, but Lily caught him winking at James in the middle of a crowd of boys. She tore off the cloak and stuffed into her pocket. Where should she go in the library? The Hogwarts school library was huge; if she wanted to hide from James in there it wouldn't be hard. There were hundreds of shelves and thousands of books. In the end, she just sat at one of the tables next to a cart of ink and extra quills.

Too late, she realized Star was there. She tried to hide her face behind a volume of Standard Book of Spells Grade 7, but she was already running over. The new librarian clicked her tongue as she ran by, but didn't say anything. She was generally nice towards many of the students. Rumor was that she was only two years out of Durmstrang herself.  
She had thick, brown hair and Sirius had a crush on this 'older woman'.

"Lily Anna Evans, where have you been?" Star scolded quietly. In a flash, she saw James walk in and lean against a book shelf. Every couple seconds he looked at Star as if she was irritating him.

To tell the truth or not to tell the truth? She had no idea. Finally she just swallowed loudly and whispered, "With James. I can't talk about it right now. I promise I'll tell you everything later."

Star's mouth dropped open, "I'm getting McGonagall. Are you under the Imperious curse or confounded or... did you accept any unknown liquids in the past twenty four hours?"

"I haven't drunk a love potion if that's what you mean. Star, right now I just really need you to leave. When I get somewhere private, I'll tell you everything; there's a lot to say, but long story really, really short, I'm in love with James. Now hurry up and go!" she whispered urgently.

The second Star walked away, James sat down in that very seat. "I'd like my cloak and my map back now," Lily handed the grubby parchment over and the shimmering cloak. "Thanks for getting rid of Star, I owe you one."

"Well, you might find this interesting," Lily said quietly, "Star didn't believe me. She asked me if I was under the imperious curse and whether or not I drank any strange liquids. She doesn't trust you, James, but I'll talk to her tonight. Have you seen Sirius?"

James shook his messy haired head, "No, Remus did. He acted like a right foul git ever since break ended. He usually is after a visit from home. Summer break is the worst; it takes him nearly a month to get over visiting his house. I wouldn't have flipped, but it wasn't the first time he's said something like that and god knows it won't be that last. He's gone out with every girl in the school," he said, "except you," he added shyly. "Remus and I never said a thing. I fall in love with the one person that totally hates my guts and he's all over me saying..." he turned red, "never mind. You don't need to hear  
that. Anyway, if I could have decided who I'd fall in love with, do you think I would've picked the girl who hates me?"

"James, I never totally hated you. I just didn't like some of the stuff you did." James had started combing his fingers through her auburn hair. She caught Star's glance and shrugged as if to say, I told you. He pulled her hair away from her face and kissed her lightly on the lips in front of everyone in the library. Lily's mind went crazy. She wanted him to kiss her more, but she knew he wouldn't. She wanted him to be ruthless and fun and at the same time, be like this. Most of all, she never wanted to leave him.

"Oh my god... James and Lily!" whispered one of Lily's friends, Genevieve or Jen for short. It wasn't strange to see them sitting near each other, most of the time James wasn't wanted, but Lily wouldn't ever let a guy she didn't like get away with kissing her.

"Come on, let's go somewhere else." James pulled Lily into one of the shelves near the window. It was completely empty and there was a window seat. Dreamily, Lily sat down next to James on the seat. She could see Star moving her seat for a better look. Lily started to kiss James, but he stopped her. "Too many people watching. I wish there was somewhere private in this darn place so people could stop watching us." Instead, he held her hand tight. "I'm really sorry 'bout Sirius. He isn't usually such a jerk, but you're the only girl in the school he hasn't gone out with because you said no. There's other girls the liked him that he said no to, but in your third year, he asked you out and you said no so he's kind of marked you as his enemy for life. Not to mention the fact he hated how I always obsessed over you." James took a single lock of her hair and curled it around his finger. How she wanted to kiss him! This was even worse than all the times he made Snape levitate and tried to bribe her to go out with him. His face was inches away from hers, her hand was in his, and he hadn't needed the Imperious curse to get her here.

"People are going to be talking about us," he said simply.

"I don't care anymore. This is more important than what some losers have to say."

"You have really pretty eyes," James stated bluntly, but it didn't come out that way. Face to face, it looked as his he was just realizing something about her, something that he didn't see before. Lily stared at James and saw all the emotions flowing through him. He was angry because of whatever Sirius had said, he was confused on what to do next, and he was in love with her. His hand and hers were dependant on each other. James was lost and Lily was confused. The only thing that was ever the same was the two hands holding on to each other for support.

"Meet me in the common room in about half an hour. Professor McGonagall wants to talk to me and I owe Star a short explanation. I'll be there soon, okay?"

"Of course!" James said. Like he'd miss a chance to go anywhere with her. "Don't tell Star a lot, okay?"

"Please, I've already promised against that." She quickly kissed his cheek and ran out of the library in a hurry. Whatever McGonagall had to say must be important so it might take a while. 


	3. Chapter 3

It's Out... Way Out

James and Lily went through that statue to a long, narrow passage way. It seemed about a mile long. When they came to the end Sirius, Remus, and James disappeared. "Lily, we're under my cloak. Wait here!" James voice ordered, seemingly from nowhere. Lily shot James a look, but she wasn't sure he could see it in the dark. They lifted up a trap door and looked around. 'It's clear, follow us."

Lily climbed along a ladder. She expected to open up to a street or some place in the woods like in the movies, but no. All she saw was a bunch of cardboard boxes and some jars. Stamped on to many of the boxes was HONEYDUKES. The three original Marauders started up the stairs. They ducked behind the counter and the young boy behind it winked at them. "Go 'head. No one in the special tastes section."

They ducked behind a rack of cockroach clusters. Even without the usual Hogwarts students, the store was still somewhat crowded. A few pale, sticky people started towards the blood pops and they dodged out of the shop. Sirius smiled and she could tell he was laughing inside. She could clearly remember at one point in her Hogwarts career him comparing the other Black family members to vampires before. Lily stared around the village. She'd never seen Hogsmeade so empty, in fact, the only time that she'd ever seen it was when there were about two hundred Hogwarts students on the loose. Now, only the solitary wizard or witch wandered around the post office or Shrieking Shack. The Three Broomsticks was as lively as ever though. There were maybe fifty people sitting around the tables drinking butter beer or any of the other things that Madam Lola served.

"Do you always go here on the weekends?" Lily asked. It made sense, though. James and Sirius were always in detention while the other students went, but now that the place was quiet (or at least as quiet as Hogsmeade would ever be) they had their chance to do what they wanted. All of the Marauders had friends outside the Marauders, like Lily and Remus only several days earlier, but this was for them and only them. It felt sacred for her to be invited. She shot a look at James and gave him a little smile.

"Most of the time Slughorn's enormous essays keep us home or McGonagall wants us in detention, but I haven't gotten a detention all week and James is only skipping Flikwick's. He really won't mind. He's a bit better than the rest of our teachers. Dumbleydore really only keeps us here out of the kindness of his over sized heart. What would've happened if Dippit had still been Head Master when the Marauders came into the school, only god knows. Our wands would've been snapped in half before we even sat our bottoms on the stool and heads under the sorting hat," Remus chuckled. His gaze wandered over to the Shrieking Shack and he gave an involuntary shudder.

"Let's go get a butter beer at the Three Broomsticks. It'll be a bit warmer in there," James suggested. There was an awkward silence between all of the three old Marauders and Lily, the newest one. She gave James a quick look and he shrugged, as if to say, "Hey, not my fault they're afraid of a girl. If I were Sirius, I'd be making out with you right now." Okay, maybe it didn't say the last part, but it suggested it in Lily's mind. Plus, it was a hundred percent right.

Three bells jingled overhead as they walked in. Lily felt left out, being the only girl with three boys, but there was something else. There was something that she didn't know that the rest of them did. She considered confronting them with it, but she knew that it wasn't right to do to James and it wasn't fair that she should just barge in and expect them to tell her everything. She was the beginner here, and she didn't like not being in total control. They sat down at one of the large red booths ad all ordered butter beers, although Sirius had to be convinced out of ordering Fire Whiskey by Remus.

When they all had steaming hot cups of butter beer in their hands, James started to talk. He could see that Lily was pretty much ruining it, but it wasn't her fault. "Remus, we've got to tell her. She's got a right to know," he said, completely ignoring Lily.

Sirius choked on a mouthful of butter beer and Remus smiled. "I'm fine with it. You, Padfoot?"

"No bloody way! You don't want that kind of thing to get out. You trust her too much and you don't even know her that well," Sirius whispered urgently. Remus gave him a sad look.

James fought back, "I trust Lily. She's not like one of you're bimbo girlfriends. Get over yourself."

"James, I'll tell her. It's not your fault, Lily. When you hear it, you might wish you didn't. I won't let my best friend get in trouble over something so stupid that Lily will find out anyway. Lily, I'm a werewolf," he whispered quietly.

Lily nearly fell off her chair and James shot him a grateful look. "You're a what?" she said. He wouldn't tell her this if it wasn't true, but she couldn't picture poor Remus in the woods or anywhere as a werewolf. She could easily picture James accidentally transforming him into one in class, but not an actual werewolf. He wouldn't kill anyone, would he? Is that why his family, like hers, didn't have much money? Remus was so nice and so smart! He didn't deserve anything like that.

"Shhh. Lily, you're only the fourth person that knows outside his family. He's kept it quiet for seven years, you've got to keep a secret now too," James said. "It's fine, he transforms outside Hogwarts and comes back a day or two later and he's usually under the influence of some weakening spells. It's still vicious, it's still horrible, and it's still not right, but what can we do about it? Tell no one, understand?" For once his voice was firm and a little louder. James sighed, "Not even Star."

"I get it. I won't tell anyone. You can trust me," Sirius snickered as she said this, "I won't tell anyone about your erm..." she bit her tongue trying to figure out what is werewolf problem could be called without anyone else knowing what it was.

James laughed, "Furry little problem?" It made a lot of sense though. In her fifth year James had asked her out and she'd told him, "Not if it was the choice between you or a werewolf." Now she understood why Sirius and Peter had busted out laughing and Remus had just looked depressed. James had then come back with, "Well, what if the werewolf was transformed into his wolf shape and could easily kill you?" Lily shot back, "Then you might have a chance."

She smiled, but it looked more like one of James's smiles, the one that said I'm-breaking-the-rules-and-causing-trouble-and-there's-nothing-anyone-can-do-about-it. She was sitting there with a werewolf and the two people that she used to hate more than anything in the world and now was in love with one of them. James was grinning at her. "Hey James, I think you've become a bad influence to this girl," Remus winked. They drank their butter beer and left.

James and Sirius ran to the more rural part of Hogsmeade. Remus and her trailed behind. "So—have you ever," she paused, trying to gather up her nerve, "bitten anyone?"

"No. Lily, I don't really want to talk about it, okay? I can't remember what happened after I'm back in human form…the worst part is waking up with little bits of hair under your fingernail, blood stains on your hands, and knowing that—that you killed something. It'd scare anyone half to death."

Remus grabbed the bag of brooms and they started off the clearing behind the Shrieking Shack. James pulled a little, gold snitch out of his pocket and started letting it go and catching it again. Sirius tossed her a Shooting Arrow broom. "You're chaser and keeper for James's team. He's seeker and I'm seeker for my team and Remus is chaser and keeper for my team. Have fun," Sirius said coldly.

Lily stared at the Shooting Arrow broom. "You want me to play Quidditch?" her eyes bugged up, "With you?"

Sirius laughed at her, "Hey James, your girlfriend doesn't know how to mount a broom! What's wrong with you, Evans?" Remus emptied the bag and a soccer ball and a few brooms fell out. Sirius muttered something to James. James said something about shutting up, but he just laughed and winked back at him. James pushed Sirius and he punched James in his nose. "Shut up!" he said again as he clenched his nose. Sirius pushed James over just as Remus grabbed him.

"Stop it, you two! Lily, here," Remus handed her the Marauders map. "When you're done with it, say 'Mischief managed' and give it back to James. You'd better go." Lily shot Remus a look, but James and Sirius were fully fighting now. James was winning, but Lily felt terrible.

"Stop it you idiots! I'm leaving," she shouted. James started to follow her, but she ignored him and went right to Honey Dukes. Unfortunately, it wasn't the boy behind the register anymore; it was another, older man. James grabbed the sleeve of her shirt and pulled her into an empty corner of the store.

"Lily, just listen to me. Sirius said something about you and..." he stopped because Lily was already walking away.

James tried to grab her again, but Lily turned around. "You can say what you want and blame it on Sirius, but it's your fault. I gave you a chance and the whole time I was here with you, he's treated me like crap. Step up to your friends or leave me alone." Remus had caught up with them, but Sirius was nowhere in sight. "Sirius is going to use the other passage way and it's out... way out," Remus said. The cashier was gone, so they ducked behind the door and into the cellar. James's mouth fell open.

"What's out?"

"Us," Lily said. "His big revenge is to tell the school that I've finally said yes," she swallowed, "But I don't care anymore. He can tell whoever he wants. Do you know why, James? Because it's OVER!"

James bit his lip, "Look Lily, I'm sorry. Sirius always acts stupid after breaks and stuff like that. I didn't know it'd turn out like this." Lily just nodded coldly. They nearly sprinted down the underground corridor back up to Hogwarts. They only stopped once when James dropped his cloak, but waited for him patiently until he found it (it's not easy to find an invisibility cloak in the pitch black). When they got to the top, James nodded glumly. "Let's go," he said and they started climb through trap door. As she was just about to go through the statue, James pulled her foot down and she fell with a THUMP on the stone floor. He pulled the cloak out of his pocket. "Here, you can't afford to get in trouble. We're way late."

"No, I've got the map. Check and see if there's anyone near here. Lumos," her wand sprang to life and let of an emerald green light. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Two little dots appeared right in front of the statue. One was Professor McGonagall and the other was the head of Slytherin, Professor Slughorn. They appeared to be talking or something because the two dots were very close to each other. It was nearly seven o' clock and dinner had ended in the great hall nearly an hour ago. When they got to the end of the passage way, they heard voices. "Professor, have you seen James Potter and Lily Evans? I called for them at dinner, but they didn't show up at my office. It's about the..." McGonagall trailed off. "Well, you know. I don't think they skipped because Black and Remus were not there either and Lily isn't exactly the type to stay anywhere with James for more than thirty seconds," she joked.

A voice that sounded like Slughorn sounded through the statue, "I haven't seen Lily all day today and there haven't been too many incidents that we can't blame on Peeves so Potter might not be here either. You don't think that they went into the forest, do you? I know James might be out on the Quidditch field, but Lily... she's a whole different problem. She's never broken a rule in her life. You do know who told me she'd gone missing, correct?"

"Not exactly."

McGonagall gasped, "Why it was Star Lunis herself. Lily's best friend and if she doesn't know, I truly doubt that anyone knows."

"Hmm, I see. Still, if those two don't show up by tomorrow, we've got to interrogate Mr. Black. We may even need veritaserum if he's intent on keeping it a secret."

"Oh Slughorn, you really are a potion addicted git sometimes. If Lily and James haven't returned by tomorrow, then Star or Sirius probably don't know where they are. Should I get Dumbledore?" McGonagall asked.

"No, no, no. McGonagall, students will run loose a bit in the castle. For all we know, James and Lily finally hooked up or James slipped her a love potion. That they're both a dab hand in my class."

If they could see the head of the Gryffindor, she'd have been laughing and bouncing her wavy black hair, "James? The boys clever, no denying it, but he transforms his friends into teacups instead of his teacup to a mouse! Did I tell you that last Friday Remus Lupin totally disappeared from my class? I went to see how Potter was doing and there were two teacups on his desk. I reversed the spell and what do you know, Remus suddenly appeared sitting on Mr. Potter's desk. I wouldn't like to be one of his friends. It's more dangerous than being an auror or working for the ministry any day!"

"Aww Minerva, don't be too hard on the boy. He's just a bit over creative and clever. When those two mix together, you get an overly powerful wizard or a trouble maker. I'd say Dumbledore's an overly powerful wizard in a good way. Well, with You-Know-Who rising to power, people like James and Dumbledore will save us. I just hope that we don't need him anytime soon," Slughorn said, "Good night to you, Minerva. Good luck finding your missing in action students."

McGonagall laughed a young, girlish laugh that was rather unnatural for her thirty-eight years, "Well good riddance to the darn Slytherins that always stay put! Night to you, Horace." On the Marauders map, the two tiny dots walked in opposite directions. Lily sighed in relief.

"Mischief managed."

"What do you think they want us for? Sirius couldn't have gotten back to the castle that quick with out... Remus, did he have the brooms with him when he left?" James pushed his glasses up on his face.

"Well yeah. He grabbed them and headed to the one near the Whomping Willow."

"Are you thick? He probably flew down the passage way and took maybe, five minutes! He got back ages before us and might've even told McGonagall where we've been. Merlin, Lily, run straight to the library and if anyone asks you, we're studying together and I'm in the bathroom. Remus, run up to the dormitory and read something or do something book wormy. You haven't seen me since this morning. Lily, take the cloak. I'll follow you in about... ten minutes or when ever the hallway is empty."

Lily grabbed it and hid herself. As soon as the hallway was cleared, they all crawled out. Lily ran to the library and James ran into a bathroom. Remus apparently disappeared, but Lily caught him winking at James in the middle of a crowd of boys. She tore off the cloak and stuffed into her pocket. Where should she go in the library? The Hogwarts school library was huge; if she wanted to hide from James in there it wouldn't be hard. There were hundreds of shelves and thousands of books. In the end, she just sat at one of the tables next to a cart of ink and extra quills.

Too late, she realized Star was there. She tried to hide her face behind a volume of Standard Book of Spells Grade 7, but she was already running over. The new librarian clicked her tongue as she ran by, but didn't say anything. She was generally nice towards many of the students. Rumor was that she was only two years out of Durmstrang herself.  
She had thick, brown hair and Sirius had a crush on this 'older woman'.

"Lily Anna Evans, where have you been?" Star scolded quietly. In a flash, she saw James walk in and lean against a book shelf. Every couple seconds he looked at Star as if she was irritating him.

To tell the truth or not to tell the truth? She had no idea. Finally she just swallowed loudly and whispered, "With James. I can't talk about it right now. I promise I'll tell you everything later."

Star's mouth dropped open, "I'm getting McGonagall. Are you under the Imperious curse or confounded or... did you accept any unknown liquids in the past twenty four hours?"

"I haven't drunk a love potion if that's what you mean. Star, right now I just really need you to leave. When I get somewhere private, I'll tell you everything; there's a lot to say, but long story really, really short, I'm in love with James. Now hurry up and go!" she whispered urgently.

The second Star walked away, James sat down in that very seat. "I'd like my cloak and my map back now," Lily handed the grubby parchment over and the shimmering cloak. "Thanks for getting rid of Star, I owe you one."

"Well, you might find this interesting," Lily said quietly, "Star didn't believe me. She asked me if I was under the imperious curse and whether or not I drank any strange liquids. She doesn't trust you, James, but I'll talk to her tonight. Have you seen Sirius?"

James shook his messy haired head, "No, Remus did. He acted like a right foul git ever since break ended. He usually is after a visit from home. Summer break is the worst; it takes him nearly a month to get over visiting his house. I wouldn't have flipped, but it wasn't the first time he's said something like that and god knows it won't be that last. He's gone out with every girl in the school," he said, "except you," he added shyly. "Remus and I never said a thing. I fall in love with the one person that totally hates my guts and he's all over me saying..." he turned red, "never mind. You don't need to hear  
that. Anyway, if I could have decided who I'd fall in love with, do you think I would've picked the girl who hates me?"

"James, I never totally hated you. I just didn't like some of the stuff you did." James had started combing his fingers through her auburn hair. She caught Star's glance and shrugged as if to say, I told you. He pulled her hair away from her face and kissed her lightly on the lips in front of everyone in the library. Lily's mind went crazy. She wanted him to kiss her more, but she knew he wouldn't. She wanted him to be ruthless and fun and at the same time, be like this. Most of all, she never wanted to leave him.

"Oh my god... James and Lily!" whispered one of Lily's friends, Genevieve or Jen for short. It wasn't strange to see them sitting near each other, most of the time James wasn't wanted, but Lily wouldn't ever let a guy she didn't like get away with kissing her.

"Come on, let's go somewhere else." James pulled Lily into one of the shelves near the window. It was completely empty and there was a window seat. Dreamily, Lily sat down next to James on the seat. She could see Star moving her seat for a better look. Lily started to kiss James, but he stopped her. "Too many people watching. I wish there was somewhere private in this darn place so people could stop watching us." Instead, he held her hand tight. "I'm really sorry 'bout Sirius. He isn't usually such a jerk, but you're the only girl in the school he hasn't gone out with because you said no. There's other girls the liked him that he said no to, but in your third year, he asked you out and you said no so he's kind of marked you as his enemy for life. Not to mention the fact he hated how I always obsessed over you." James took a single lock of her hair and curled it around his finger. How she wanted to kiss him! This was even worse than all the times he made Snape levitate and tried to bribe her to go out with him. His face was inches away from hers, her hand was in his, and he hadn't needed the Imperious curse to get her here.

"People are going to be talking about us," he said simply.

"I don't care anymore. This is more important than what some losers have to say."

"You have really pretty eyes," James stated bluntly, but it didn't come out that way. Face to face, it looked as his he was just realizing something about her, something that he didn't see before. Lily stared at James and saw all the emotions flowing through him. He was angry because of whatever Sirius had said, he was confused on what to do next, and he was in love with her. His hand and hers were dependant on each other. James was lost and Lily was confused. The only thing that was ever the same was the two hands holding on to each other for support.

"Meet me in the common room in about half an hour. Professor McGonagall wants to talk to me and I owe Star a short explanation. I'll be there soon, okay?"

"Of course!" James said. Like he'd miss a chance to go anywhere with her. "Don't tell Star a lot, okay?"

"Please, I've already promised against that." She quickly kissed his cheek and ran out of the library in a hurry. Whatever McGonagall had to say must be important so it might take a while. 


	4. Chapter 4

Lily and James. James Potter and Lily Evans 

The first thing that Lily did when she passed the fat lady's portrait was run up into the girls' dorm. Star sat on her bed, waiting for a very long explanation. "So what do you have to tell me? I went and ratted to McGonagall! I thought that James was threatening you or you were under the Imperious curse."

"James and I were... somewhere. That part I can't tell you. Do you remember on Thursday night when we went up to the Astronomy tower?" Star nodded. "Well, when you left so we could have a private conversation, he asked me out and I said yes. If you don't believe me, tonight I'm going down to the common room with him. Star, I'm in love with James Potter." She adjusted the story slightly so that James had asked her out and she'd said yes. It'd be easier for her to believe this was actually her best friend, Lily Evans and not an imposter.

Star nearly gagged, "Lily, you didn't just say that. You can't be! You hate him. I won't believe it!" she said stubbornly. Lily shrugged and walked out of the room and down stairs into the common room. Her brain felt completely dead. James was waiting for her. Lily hopped the last few steps and went out the portrait hole. She couldn't believe James was doing this. He led her out of the room and went into an old classroom. Oddly enough, it wasn't any old room. It was Defense Against the Dark Arts. James shut the door behind him and tapped it with his wand. The dead bolt slid into place.

"You have something really important to tell me?" he asked. Lily shook her head. "Not yet, I'll tell you in a minute. Right now, I just want to sit here," she sat on one of the dark wooden desks and James sat next to her. He started stroking her hair, gently, as if he was afraid she would break. Lily sighed. "Don't ever go away."

James smiled, "Last week, that's the only thing you wanted me to do."

"That was before, this is now. James, Jen won't talk to me and Star doesn't believe me. She thinks you're hurting me or I'm under the Imperious curse. She's the one that told McGonagall about me going missing. I want to stay with you more than anything, but I don't want to lose my two best friends! You're just as important as Star, more really, but I won't chose one over the other if I don't have to," Lily sobbed. "There's something else too." Lily pulled an envelope out of her pocket. After she'd removed the clean parchment from it, she handed it to James and he read it quickly, cringing.

_Dear Lily Evans,  
You're mother and father have been murdered. We're sending this to inform you that you may be in danger and it would be best if you stayed at Hogwarts over the Easter holidays or find somewhere safe to go. If possible, find somewhere to go as soon as you get out of Hogwarts and we'll ship your things there. Do not share this letter with ANYONE. Death eaters visited your home on January 2nd and your mother and father were killed. You're sister is now in the care of you aunt. The muggles do not know about Voldemort. To them, it was a common murder. _

_The muggles also wish for me to inform you that you will not be welcomed home during the holidays. Mrs. Petunia Evans would like to tell you that you should find a way of living as her and her new found family does not wish to have a witch in their household. I'm very sorry about this, but __I'm merely quoting your sister._

_My regards, Minister of Magic, Edwin Grutch_  
"James, they're dead! I've no where to go when I get out of Hogwarts. My aunt won't take me; she's too terrified to come over her house when I'm there. Petunia hates me. She calls me a freak and she's just afraid of magic." Lily started crying. James pulled her closer until her head rested on his shoulder.

"You could stay with me. My parents wouldn't care; Sirius stays nearly every summer. This year he's going somewhere else though; he inherited a lot of money from someone and he's getting a house. My mum would hardly know the difference," he offered hopefully.

"That'd be great," she replied sadly. James patted her shoulder with the hand that wasn't still stroking her hair. Lily had no idea how comforting it was just to sit here with him. There was no other place she wanted to be except... "Follow me!" she exclaimed suddenly. She saw James pull the cloak out of his pocket and unfold the Marauders map. He didn't smile like he usually did. He looked at her suddenly when she pulled away from him and let go of her hair, "Where are we going?" he asked her.

"You'll see," Lily said as she pulled him along the stair case. She grabbed his hand and pulled him all the way up to the top of the Astronomy tower. She just prayed that there weren't any courses on Sunday night. She'd lied and said she spent the whole of today doing essays and all the other pointless homework her teachers insisted on assigning. James had a more relaxed approach. Apparently, he lied and said he snitched a golden snitch and spent his night letting it fly and chasing it on his broom around the Quidditch field saying that it was training. Surprisingly, McGonagall believed him and said that she hoped their house won and went off to bed.

James whispered, "Here? I thought only you and Star were allowed here-" he stopped because Lily had stopped. She grabbed his hand and led him to the farthest corner of the tower where the railing was broken. She sat on one of the stone benches next to him. Her hair flew around in the wind and she closed her eyes, letting it all go away. She was happy here, with James holding her hand. It felt as if her problems were flying away with her the wind.

"I love you, Lily."

Lily couldn't stand it. James had always been the one that couldn't control himself, the one that always did what he wanted. Now Lily wanted to be reckless; she wanted to be the one that got in trouble while James was satisfied with sitting there next to her. His eyes looked hurt, "I'm sorry I said that."

"Don't be. James, I love you. I'm sorry I hated you for so long. We could've had years together in Hogwarts instead of me shouting at you everyday." James ran his hands through her chestnut hair. She smiled at him. He was so, so perfect. She ruffled his hair. "Sorry, it was too neat for my taste," she giggled. James hands hesitated on her neck. His eyes were so big; they were hazel and full of concern and... emotion. Lily only saw his eyes when they were lit up after winning a Quidditch match or so. Never had she seen him concerned or worried about anything. James kissed her on the lips. She threw her arms around him. "When everything goes wrong, I'll still have you because you'll never give up on me."

Lily lied awake in bed, thinking. Lily and James. James Potter and Lily Evans. They sounded so right for some reason. That wasn't all that was on her mind though. She kept imagining what could've happened if she'd never lied on the Astronomy tower and Sirius hadn't acted like an idiot. Star would be a bit calmer around high places, sure, but what about her and James? Would she ever look at him the same way she did now?

Probably not.

Star tapped her shoulder. "Tell me what's going on now or I'm never talking to you again, Lily," she shouted. Lucky there was no one in the dormitory.

"Star, I explained as simply as I could," Lily sighed, "I love him and he loves me. Do you hear me? I love James and he loves me," she said calmly.

Star was hysterical, "This is a joke! Lily, James is a prat and you hate him. Be honest; is there any reason that you're going out with him? He's a total git and he's a creep. You hate him. Repeat it with me. Say I hate James Potter more than anything in the world."

"I love James Potter more than anyone in the world," she repeated seriously. "I don't hate him anymore. He loves me, he told me he did."

"And you believed him! If you did, you're even stupider than I thought if that's possible. It's probably just a joke. I bet he doesn't even like you," Star smirked. "Sirius probably put him up to it. Lily Anna Evans, you're being played."

"No I'm not! James wouldn't do that," she said, but tears welled up in her eyes. "Shut up, Lunis, and don't call me Lily Anna. If you can't accept who I'm friends with, then you don't have to be one of my friends. Just because he acts like a moron sometimes doesn't mean he can't love anyone."

Star smirked, "Remember in my fifth year when you liked that sixth year, Eric? You were afraid to make a peep anywhere near him," Lily grimaced at the mention of Eric, a boyfriend that James had cursed into the next week when he learned that him and Lily were going out, "You didn't try and force him to go out with you by hexing people and you didn't follow him around playing tricks on him, did you? You didn't ask him out once and eventually you moved on. So you see, either he's retarded, or he doesn't really like you." Lily started to cry, realizing Star definitely had a point. "He's in for the kill. He's going to hurt you," she whispered in Lily's ear. Star could act fragile, but now she examined her nails as she said this. Her mind swirled with all that was going on. Suddenly, it was too much. Lily passed out on the bed. 

Downstairs, James was pleading with Jen. "Please, just go and see if Lily's up there? I really need to talk to her." Jen looked at him like he was crazy.

"Are you going out with her? James, she hates you. Just leave her alone; it's late. You can talk to her tomorrow," Jen said. She started to walk away, but James grabbed the sleeve of her robes.

"I'm begging you, she said she'd be back down and she's not. Lily wouldn't lie to me," he begged, but Jen just shook her head. She told him to ask Star just as she started walking down the stairs. James ran over to her, but as soon as Star saw him coming, she turned the other way. James wasn't fooled though. He put his foot on the stairs and they turned into a smooth stone slide. Star grabbed onto the railing, but lost her grip and fell back down.

"What do you want, Potter?" she spat coldly.

James tried to help her up, but she jerked away from him and got herself up, "Have you seen Lily? She went up there half an hour ago and she said she'd be back down." Star seized the opportunity,

"She did?" she widened her eyes in fake shock, "She didn't sound like she ever wanted to see you again when I talked to you. She was nearly in tears talking about how you humiliated her. I don't think she really wants to ever see you again. She fainted on the bed."

"Star, you moron, don't you know what she's going through right now? Didn't she tell you anything? She might be sick or something if she fainted. I'm getting McGonagall."

The little girl stood right in front of him, blocking his way even though she was a good two feet shorter than him. "Why would you do that? Would she believe you? Come on, even the teachers know that Lily hates you and you love her. McGonagall wouldn't waste her time," she discouraged him. "Besides, you don't have the guts to tell a teacher anything."

James said, "I've got the guts to do anything for Lily."

"Have fun slaving for a girl that hates you," Star laughed, "She's a great actress, isn't she? The poor girl's plan was to make fun of you or dump you at some odd moment, but then you made her feel so awkward and you made fun of her without every knowing it. She put up with it for as long as she could, but then she totally collapsed. She's just tired, though. It's not like she's dying." James lower lip started quivering in anger. He ran out of the portrait hole with the ever faithful Sirius following close behind. He ran straight to the head mistress's office and barged through the door.

"Professor McGonagall, it's an emergency!" Sirius pushed him out of the way.

"She'll never believe you," he hissed. "I was just talking to Star Lunis and she said that Lily fainted in the dormitory. I think she should go to the hospital wing." The black haired professor looked up alarm.

"James, is this true? Did she look sick before this?" she asked.

He shook his head, "No ma'am. She was fine earlier in the-" Sirius kicked him. It was their rule; never tell a teacher more than they needed to know. Professor McGonagall stood up and start to run (or at least walk as fast as she could) towards the common room. When she got to the portrait hole, the fat lady opened the door without waiting for the password and James and Sirius followed blindly behind her. Without hesitating, she climbed up the girls' dormitory stairs.

It seemed like forever. All that went through James's head were questions. What if she's dead? Was Star telling the truth? How did she feel about him? Did she think about him like he thought about her? The professor still wasn't out.

She was in there for about two very long minutes when she cried, "Ms. Lunis, get Madam Pomfrey!" 

Lily opened her eyes. Images of Star and James and even a few of Remus appeared in her head. She was totally numb, she couldn't feel anything. Her mind worked rather slowly, as if she was just waking up. Well, she was just waking up. It felt like she'd slept for years.

There were voices... voices by beside her, somewhere in the room. Where was she anyway?

"I think she's waking up," someone whispered.

"She is?" someone asked hopefully. The same person, probably James, grabbed her hand. "What'd you think happened to her, Remus? She just kind of passed out."

They were talking about her. Her eyes fluttered open, "Where am I? Is that you, James?" In response, James tightened his hold on her hand.

"Shhh. You're okay," he whispered. "Padfoot, Mooney, can you leave?" the other Marauders nodded and Lily heard the door click shut. James was playing with her hair again.

Lily opened her eyes and said, "How long have I been here? What happened?" she sat up. "Why am I in the hospital wing?"

"You've been here for nearly three days. You had some fever or something and passed out so Professor McGonagall brought you here. Calm down, Lily," he said to her, "if Madam Pomfrey sees you getting worked up then she'll make me leave." He lowered his voice, "Is what Star said true? Did you tell her that you never wanted to see me again?" his voice sounded more than defeated. It sounded like he'd been hurt too much to go much longer believing that.

He let go of her hand and dropped her red hair.

"No, James, I swear I never said anything like that! I told her the truth; well, as much as I could without letting off any of your secrets or Remus's. Star got really mad and said it was her or you and I chose you," she said. "Oh gosh," she cried, "I'm so sorry. What did she say?"

"Only that you never wanted to see me again and that I totally humiliated you. Did I?" he asked sincerely.

"No, never. I was just so confused that I fainted. You've never hurt me, ever. Star must've lied thinking that you'd be too mad about it to ever talk to me. I can't believe that she'd do that." Surely he couldn't just want to hurt her if he'd been next to her while she just slept for three days?

James started twirling a strand of her hair again, "Maybe it's not her fault. She might be like Sirius. When he comes back from his parents, he's mentally unstable and has a lot of problems. When he's forced to go back, he's abused and mistreated. It's the only reason they ever wanted him there in the first place. Is Star wanted at home?" he asked. "You can tell me; I won't tell anyone."

Lily thought about it. Star had seven brothers and sisters, none of them magic. Her parents forbid her to go to Hogwarts when they heard it was magic so she ran away and was living off student funds. She never went home for the holidays, but this year she had. Her aunt had taken some pity on her and when she went to visit, her parents had been there. They said that they wanted her to come home and drop the whole Hogwarts bull, but she rebelled. She ran off two days earlier than the train left with some money and got to the Hogwarts Express. She never said anything about being abused, but she might've been. Star was a proud girl; she wouldn't admit it if she didn't need to. "Not one bit; she's living off student funds and met her parents at her aunt's house over Christmas break. Can we not talk about this now?"

"Sure, Lily, whatever you want. Is there anything I can do for you?" When Lily shook her head, he smiled, "Everyone in the school knows now. It's pretty big," he gestured over to the stack of candy and cards next to her. "Everyone from first years to Slytherins came in and left you something. Well, that's pretty much the truth. Snape left you some rotten thing that said Mudblood on it. Madam Pomfrey freaked and gave him detentions every weekend for the rest of the year! Best part was that Sirius, Remus, and I were here to watch!" He got a bit more serious, "You want to hang out on Saturday? I don't mean with Sirius and Remus that was a bit of a fiasco, just you and me."

"There nothing else I'd rather do." James looked happy with that and nearly jumped when Madam Pomfrey came in.

"Oh hello James, dearest. I hope I don't see you after the next Quidditch match. You do work your team too hard. Beating Slytherin isn't everything although I would love to see them stomped on in the next match. Good luck and good day, I'm sure Lily doesn't need you bothering her while she's trying to recover," she said clicking her tongue.

"I was talking to her! Just give me ten minutes," James begged as the nurse tried to usher him out the door.

"Madam Pomfrey, it's okay, I was talking to him. He's fine," she said. Madam Pomfrey looked at her in surprise, but let James go. He sat back in the chair by the bed and whispered his thanks to Lily. She smiled. A knock sounded on the door and Sirius ran in.

"Aww darn it! We wanted to catch James and Lily in action," Sirius said and she noticed Remus standing behind him. James gave him a look, but Remus stuck his tongue out at him.

"So you want us to bust you out of here tonight? There's a secret passage way out of here not even the Marauders map knows about. We just discovered it in our fourth year." She ignored them, giving Remus a really-immature-aren't-you? look.

Something started nagging Lily. "James, Star hasn't been here to see me, has she?"

"Well, she did and she was hysterical. She started crying and saying it was all her fault and that she didn't deserve to be your friend. She personally apologized to me and I'd forgive her if I were you. She didn't mean it. I didn't tell you because you didn't want to talk about it. Right now you're coming with me to the library. You've got a ton of homework left to do, even though Remus and I finished off three essays and one of your worksheets. McGonagall personally gave me a pass to give to Madam Pomfrey so that you could go to the library," he said, "Of course, I'll be there to help you study."

Lily jumped out of the bed and nearly gasped, "Three days homework! I'll never get all that done. Oh gosh, exams aren't that far away, what am I going to do?"

James laughed, "Lils, McGonagall's letting you off the hook for all of your Transfiguration homework and Divination! She says that you need time to recover and she just expects you to try your best in classes. Grendol hasn't assigned any D.A.D.A. and Flikwick hasn't said anything, but you know that you're his favorite student; he'll never give you work. All you have is Slughorn's essays, which we pretty much finished for you, Care of Magical Creatures, and a star chart for Astronomy, and some book work for History of Snores- I mean, Magic. Loosen up a bit; do you think I'm actually going to the library to study?"

Lily knew exactly why he was going, but didn't say so because at that very moment Professor McGonagall walked in. "Hello Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans, Black, Remus. What are you all doing in here? Ms. Evans, are you okay? You gave us quite a scare on Sunday night."

"I'm fine, Professor. James, Sirius, and Lupin are helping me with homework and all the things I missed. I've got ever so much homework," she said, burrowing herself in one of the textbooks James was holding, trying to look exhausted. His mouth dropped open. Lily Evans, faking to get out of homework?

She must've bought it because she said, "Oh, don't worry about too much of it. Flikwick, Biones (the divination teacher), and I are letting you off for this. You don't need to worry about a thing in our classes, just Professor Slughorn's," she said, relishing the chance to make fun of the Head of Slytherin. "Oh, I forgot. Sirius and James, you're each awarded fifty points for Gryffindor for use of good judgment in a crisis. All of you receive twenty points for helping a student in need. Lily," she said with a kind look over at the sick girl, "Twenty just because you were sick and you need to work extra hard to catch up in classes and if there's anything you need, don't be afraid to ask. Do you understand?" putting and extra edge in her voice to show that there was something else. Lily knew it was about her parents. "Boys, I'd like to talk to her alone."

"McGonagall, if you wouldn't mind, could James stay? I've already told him about, you know," she knew what her teacher was hinting at. She wanted to say something about her parents. McGonagall gave her a confused look, but nodded as Sirius and Remus left. James wore a look of sheer honor and shock. The professor sat on the edge of the bed and started to talk to Lily and rather ignored James.

"Well, I guess it isn't really a secret, what I'm telling you, but Lily, in light of recent events, you've been invited to spend the summer at Hogwarts. I know that Ms. Lunis and you haven't really been friends lately, but if there's anyway you could find some place to stay after you get out of Hogwarts, it'd be great. We have funds and someone could help you find an apartment in Diagon Alley. If there's absolutely anything Dumbledore or I could do for you, then just ask. But I have to ask you, why does this concern Mr. Potter?"

Lily looked at her transfiguration teacher. Was it just her, or was she considerably softer, nicer? Her look at Lily was one a mother might give to a daughter, although with these circumstances, it hardly seemed likely. Lily smiled and said, "I've already found somewhere to go for at least a few weeks."

Her eyes opened in interest. "Who," she asked, "would that be?"

James widened his eyes too. "She's going to come home with me at the end of school," he said, rubbing the toe of one of his shoes into the stone floor. "That's the only reason it concerns me. Lily and I are-"

"Mr. Potter, you're excused. Lily, I'd like to speak to you in private." She held open the door to let James through and he gave Lily one last look and shivered. What would happen this summer? His parents were hardly ever home, his house was huge, and there were no muggles for miles. They could basically do whatever they wanted.

Seemingly, that was what worried James most. He waved to Lily before McGonagall slammed the door on him.

"You and James? Lily, are you sure?" McGonagall asked her. "If you were to break up or get in a fight, then... well you wouldn't be welcome at his house. If you would at least try and have a back up place to go or something. You and James Potter, I don't believe it." She turned sharply, "My two favorite students, oddly enough. Three (it was really five) years of asking you out and then you say yes... you aren't just fooling around with him, Lily, are you? He's written things in the margins of his assignments about you. The poor boy is in love. Honest, do you actually like him or just acting or has he put you under the Imperious curse?" she smiled. Lily leaned back in bed.

"Professor, I do love him, so much so that Star didn't want to be my friend because of it. James and I finally hooked up as Slughorn said."

McGonagall's hand shot to her mouth. "You heard me and him talking after dinner, didn't you?" When Lily nodded, she said, "Well, I'll let you get back to bed. Would you like me to let the others in?" Lily nodded again and McGonagall opened the door. James was standing right where McGonagall had slammed the door on him. Lily smiled when she saw that James was still there, and it was the kind of smile that lit up someone's whole face.


End file.
